Current Genomics - Volume 6, Issue 1, 2005

Prion diseases are fatal transmissible neurodegenerative disorders of both animals and humans associated with prolonged incubation periods and include scrapie, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). The arrival of variant CJD (vCJD) and the recognition that it is causally related to BSE, to which there has been widespread dietary exposure, has lead to considerable public health concerns. Read More

Neurons in the CNS establish exceedingly complex and precise networks organised via specific synaptic connections that ultimately determine the cellular basis of cognitive processes and behaviour. This fragile and intricate circuitry presents a challenging barrier for fundamental neurobiology studies or clinical gene therapy where long-term genetic modification is wanted. Small volumes, low toxicity, minimal immune reaction, Read More

Psoriasis is a common, immunologically-mediated, inflammatory and hyperproliferative disease of the skin and joints. Available evidence indicates that a major psoriasis gene (PSORS1) resides in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), and that several additional psoriasis susceptibility genes reside elsewhere. Identification of the PSORS1 gene has been hampered by the existence of strong linkage disequilibrium (LD) in Read More

It is well recognised that the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) harbours the main psoriasis susceptibility locus (PSORS1, Psoriasis Susceptibility 1). Nonetheless, linkage analyses have repeatedly shown that the PSORS1 locus account for less than 50% of the disease family clustering. On this basis, it is widely agreed that additional loci must contribute to psoriasis susceptibility, either by interacting directly wit Read More

Psoriasis is a common chronic inflammatory disease of the skin affecting approximately 2% of Caucasians. Psoriasis has a worldwide distribution, with prevalence varying according to race and geographic location. Numerous population-, family- and twin-based studies point to a very strong genetic component of this disease. Psoriasis is a complex disease, as suggested by a very unclear and variable pattern of inheritance an Read More